Counting Winter Birds in Philadelphia

We always look forward to early January because that is the time of Philadelphia Mid-winter Bird Census. This count was begun by Keith Russell in 1987 and seems to get better each year.

I do have to confess though that I miss the days of cold and snow. Recent counts have been on warmer days, as was yesterdays. It makes for easier birding, and perhaps more birds, but it sure doesn't seem like winter anymore!

And speaking of winter one bird that should not be here at that time is a Green Heron, pictured at top at the Manayunk Canal, a short distance from our house. Since I report all my sightings to ebird and they sometimes want some sort of proof of unusual sightings I brought my camera along yesterday, specifically to document this Green Heron as well as any other rarities that we might find.

We had barely started when my wife Jerene spotted the heron just a few feet from us. So I skipped looking at him through binoculars, skipped sketching, and immediately started snapping photos. I don't at all like this manner of birding. But I was determined to document what we saw for the count. Tomorrow I'll return to sketching as a way of documentation. Along with this heron we saw three different Great Blue Herons, all in somewhat different poses. Once I got started taking photos I found it easy to continue so I also took some of the more common birds we saw. I particularly liked the pose of the Great Blue Heron perched high against a foggy backdrop. This photo is beneath the Green Heron.

Still I hated to pass up the opportunity to sketch. Also I've just finished the wonderful book, Bob Kuhn - Drawing On Instinct. Kuhn was an American wildlife artist who spent many years as an illustrator then turned strictly to painting at age 50. When I switched from abstraction to wildlife art it was the big game art, which he often did, coupled with slavish copying of photos, which he didn't, that really made me nervous. I didn't like either and it made me hesitant to call myself a 'wildlife artist'. But over the years I noticed that every time I saw a Kuhn painting it struck me as very strong, regardless of subject. This book only confirms what a talented artist he was. It confirmed that some 'wildlife artists' should really just be called 'artists.' And one thing he did all is life was draw, all the time, on any surface. I know from experience that is a good idea and this book reinforced it. So yesterday, amidst all the photos, I determined I'd do at least some sketching. The next photo shows field sketches of the Green Heron, a Great Blue Heron, and a distant Hairy Woodpecker. He was behind one of the Great Blues so I added him as a reminder for a possible future subject.

I rarely get decent photos of the very common Belted Kingfisher or of either of the kinglets. So I include photos of a female Belted Kingfisher and a Golden-crowned Kinglet. I also took some photos of Pied-billed Grebes, Common Mergansers and one Rusty Blackbird, among others. But they were too distant or too dark to be worth showing. Still I think this gives a good idea of what we saw, and should serve as proof to anyone who doubts that the Green Heron that we first saw a month or so ago is still around. I just wish that Magnolia Warbler would make a reappearance!

The PMWBC link at the top includes links to previous years reports. In a month or so I'd guess it will have the full and quite enjoyable summary by Keith of all that was seen today as well as thoughts on the changes in birds that are around Philadelphia at this time of year. I always love reading it! This is a quite enjoyable project that also provides very useful information about the state of birds in Philadelphia, which for anyone who doesn't know, is often considered the origin of American birding. I know that there is a festival that goes by the name 'Cradle of Birding' at John Heinz NWR in Philadelphia. While researching that phrase just now I see that the American Birding Association has something similar this March: Cradle of American Ornithology.

Better Philadelphia Birding

Any local readers may wonder just how I or anyone might propose to make Philadelphia birding better. A very good question. Surely I'm not about to announce my patent on attracting rare birds. No. My discovery was accidental.

The PA Audubon Rare Bird List listserve had an email the other day about an unofficial 'Bird Day' this coming Saturday, September 17. When I looked at the link for Pennsylvania Audubon I found a short article about three bird festivals this weekend. Below that I found a link to a new Fairmount Park IBA Bird Checklist.

It's the latter that's my secret for better Philadelphia Birding. Compiled by Keith Russell of Audubon PA it's a wonderful essay and checklist of birds found within Fairmount Park, including Benjamin Rush State Park. Keith has organized the Philadelphia Mid-winter Bird Census for 25 years. I and Jerene have taken part in it for the last five or six years. Each mid-winter report is a thrill to read, noting what birds are here in early January, and also how their numbers compare to birds seen in previous years.

The new Fairmount Park checklist is the similar but on a much larger scale. Each species is shown in a bar graph that shows frequency by month. Also included in the same bar graph is likelihood of presence in six locations: Wissahickon, Pennypack, East West Reservoirs, Cobbs Creek, Poquessing/Benjamin Rush State Park, and Roosevelt Park. Looking at a random entry I see that a Semi-palmated Sandpiper is only likely to be seen at Pennypack, especially in May, July, August and September. A rarer Philadelphia Vireo is likely to be seen if at all, during September and early October at any of the locations.

Of course there are other Philadelphia locations where birds might be seen. But this checklist encompasses many of the areas available to birders. It's particularly valuable to me since I spend so much time at the Wissahickon. It also makes me more likely to investigate areas like Pennypack, Benjamin Rush or Roosevelt Parks.

What I most enjoy though are the species entries. For instance the entry on the Philadelphia Vireo, a species we THINK we've seen twice at Magee Marsh in Ohio both spring and fall migration was first discovered in 1842 by John Cassin in an area of Fairmount Park known as Bingham's Woods. Now it is observed only during fall migrations with rare exceptions. This type of information is both invaluable and just plain fun to read.

Some beginning birders might find it a bit overwhelming though even for them the graphs and species accounts indicate the likelihood of seeing certain species at certain times and places. It's always good to know how likely birds are to be seen in any locale, regardless of how experienced you are. I think the checklist is most valuable though to slightly more experienced birders. It's thoroughly enjoyable to read a species account and compare it to your own experiences, or to read that species that you rarely see are actually fairly common at Roosevelt Park for instance.

And of course there is the history. To me it's fascinating to know how the Philadelphia Vireo got its name and to know its local connection. In keeping with this historical theme one of the three festivals taking place tomorrow is the Cradle of Birding festival at Tinicum.

We've never been before but are going to try to make it tomorrow. Philadelphia really is the Cradle of Birding in many ways. I always forget that, especially since I have little connection to much of the local birding community. If I had I'd probably be more mindful of it. In any case it is amazing to realize how much of American birding took place here. It should be enjoyable to go to a festival celebrating that. The newly arrived cooler weather should make ti all the more enjoyable.

Finally, if you've made it this far, I did the small 8x5 inch watercolor at top as an illustration of one of our local birds that appears on Keith's checklist. This is based on a photo I took of a Pileated Woodpecker drilling into a dead tree with the Wissahickon behind and below him. The stream, and the large rocks in it, visible through a few inches of water, is what gives the yellow-green color to the painting. I'm not too happy with this watercolor but it does serve it's purpose of illustrating local birds. And it's the first watercolor I've done of one of my favorite local birds. Maybe it will lead to more.

Scribbling Like Mad, Birding Like Mad

I'm sorry to say that no artwork accompanies this post, not unless our recent visitor the Ruby-Crowned Kinglet makes another visit and I can make a quick sketch. So this is more or less a place-holder post. I won't go so far as to say it's 'filler.'

I've done little artwork recently partially due to the holiday season but also due to the number of bird counts that I take part in during January. Last week was the Christmas Bird Count at the Schuylkill Center For Environmental Education in Philadelphia, PA. Tomorrow is the Philadelphia Mid-Winter Bird Census organized by Keith Russell. Both take up a good portion of the day, especially the Mid-winter census.

I take part in them both because I like to bird but also because it's fascinating finding out what birds live in an area in the winter. Almost all of the migrants are gone and just the hardy winter residents remain. Most people would be shocked to see how many different species of birds remain around in the winter time. Keith's reports on Philadelphia show that 92 species were seen last year. The results can be seen in this PDF. While many people are shocked to see even Robins in winter in the northern U.S., especially in the cities, the Mid-Winter Bird Census found almost 100 last year in a large northern city! That continues to amaze me.

So I've been busy and will be busy birding, perhaps not madly, but certainly a lot.

I've also been working my way through the Winslow Homer book that I mentioned in another post as well as John Busby's older book on the English artist, 'The Living Birds of Eric Ennion.' It's been a pleasure to read and view. The last section is on sketching birds. It talks about both the need to constantly be drawing from life, AND the necessity of editing and interpreting. As John Busby says: 'Interpretation requires knowledge of essentials, and the process of distillation is the refining of everything to an overriding pictorial sense of rightness. Without these qualities I doubt whether any picture can be called a work of art.'

This emphasizes what I've said in recent posts: the need to really know birds by drawing them from life. The very last page says this: 'Puffins drawn at sea--by no means easy if you stop to think first! I have vivid memories of tours of the Farnes, with Eric drawing like mad while everyone else struggled with cameras. I wonder who saw the most?'

So you need to 'draw like mad' probably without thinking in order to come to a type of knowledge that understands the essentials of a bird. It is a weird combination of thoughtlessness and the very deepest consciousness. That coupled with an 'overriding sense of pictorial rightness' leads to great bird art.